Balanced golf club head including flat alignment shoulder between reduced toe and thickened heel



Dec. 28, 1965 H. G. RORABACK 3,226,123

BALANCED GOLF CLUB HEAD INCLUDING FLAT ALIGNMENT SHOULDER BETWEEN REDUCED TOE AND THICKENED HEEL Filed Oct. 12, 1962 United States Patent BALANCED GOLF CLUB HEAD INCLUDING FLAT ALEGNMENT HOULDER BETWEEN REDUCED TOE AND THIKENED HEEL Harry G. Roraback, 4105 Madison Ave., Bridgeport, Conn. Filed Oct. 12, 1962, Ser. No. 230,154 1 Claim. (Cl. 273-164) This invention pertains to apparatus for use in playing the game of golf, particularly to an improved golf putting club usually referred to as a putter, and more particularly to an improved club head for a golf putter.

The game of golf is so well known to almost all presentday Americans, as well as many other people throughout the world, that its description is unnecessary. It is also well known that one of the most challenging aspects of the game is to master the art of putting, which usually involves the utilization of a golf putter to strike a golf ball which is resting on a golf green and to cause it to roll along the green in a desired line of movement and fall into a cup. Although all types of golf shots are important and contribute to the overall skill necessary to master the game, it is believed that most golfers agree that many strokes are gained or lost on the greens, and therefore, most serious golfers devote a considerable amount of energy, effort and time in the practice of their putting. In addition to its receiving a considerable amount of emphasis as regards practice by most golfers, putting is one facet of the game which has received a considerable amount of attention as regards the type of the putting apparatus various golfers use. Whereas most of the wooden clubs and iron clubs, which are numbered, are of fairly standard construction, there is a very large variety of different types of putters. It is also well known that putting techniques vary widely, with the various stances and positionings of the feet, head and hands being largely determined by individual preference. Notwith standing the inherently subjective nature of putting, there are some definite standards which can be applied. For example, it is generally conceded that most poor putts are the result of the failure of the ball to roll in a straight line because the flat striking face of the putter head fails to strike the golf ball squarely; that is, in such a manner that the plane of the striking face is perpendicular to the desired line of movement of the putted golf ball before, during and after ball impact. A good putt requires muscular control of the club while swinging it, pendulum fashion, in a slight arc, and most of the difficulty in putting flows from either the inability of the golfer to initially properly align the club head in order to establish the perpendicular relationship of the striking face with the desired straight line of movement of the ball, or with his failure to properly swing the club in order that the club head might always swing on a shaft axis that remains in a common plane during the swinging of the club. It has been found in practice by actual test that if these two factors may be properly taken care of, a golfer putting will improve.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved golf putter wherein means is built into the club head for enabling the golfer to both properly initially orient the club head when addressing the ball prior to putting, and also to maintain the proper swing of the club head while actually putting.

The objects of the invention are achieved in one form by providing a unique club head construction and configuration wherein, in addition to the usual fiat striking face of the club head, there is provided a shoulder of substantial extent which is disposed in a plane that is perpendicular to the plane of the club face intermediate Patented Dec. 28, 1965 a reduced portion and a thickened portion of the club head.

The above and other objects and further details of that which I believe to be novel and my invention will be clear from the following description and claim taken with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial, somewhat schematic, view showing a golf putter incorporating the invention in use;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the head of the improved putter;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the club head looking at the striking face thereof;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the club head looking from the side thereof opposite to the striking face;

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are, respectively, sectional views taken substantially on lines 5-5, 6-6 and 77 of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 8 is a schematic view illustrating the improved club head in use.

It is fundamental in golfing that when putting, as can be quickly understood from FIG. 1, the player P grasps the golf putter PG, aligns its club head with the ball B resting on the green G and attempts to strike the ball to cause it to roll on the upper surface of the green to fall into the cup C. In putting, most golfers usually swing the club somewhat like a pendulum, by first swinging it away from the ball, which i referred to as the backswing, and then reversing the swing so as to cause the putter head to move toward, strike, and followthrough the ball to cause the latter to roll in a straight line toward the cup. As pointed out above in the introduction to the specification, most golfers have difficulty in initially properly aligning the flat club face so that it squarely strikes the ball and also in maintaining the proper attitude of the club head face during the swinging of the club.

In FIGS. 27 there is illustrated in detail an improved golf putter head which incorporates means for eliminating the two major problems in putting. The improved golf putter head is designated generally by reference numeral 1G and comprises what is essentially an elongated mass of a suitable heavy material, such as molded or cast heavy metal.

The putter head It includes a fiat face 12 of substantial area which is the striking face thereof, a generally flat upper surface 14 and an arcuately curved lower surface 16 which merges with the upper surface 14 along a curved portion which is remote from the striking face 12, except for the rearwardmost extremity 18 of the putter head where they merge. The forward portion 26 of the club head is of substantially reduced cross section and fingerlike, the remaining portion 22 thereof being substantially enlarged and massive relative thereto. In practice it has been found that with a club head having an overall length of approximately five inches the reduced portion 20 constitutes approximately sixty percent of the length of the head. The reduced and enlarged portions are generally separated by a fiat transverse shoulder 24 which extends in a plane that is perpendicular to the plane of the face 12. With reference to FIG. 2, it will be observed that the thickness T of the reduced portion 20 in a horizontal plane and the thickness T of the enlarged portion 22 are substantially different, and in practice with the referred-to club head of the approximate five-inch length, these thicknesses were respectively approximately three-eighths inch to one and one-eighth inches. Formed integrally with the putter head 10 and extending above its upper side at a slight rearwardly inclined angle is a collar 26 having an internal socketed opening 28 for receiving the lower end of a golf club shaft. As illustrated, the collar 26 is tubular and its axis extends to intersect with the center of gravity of the entire putter head. Regardless of the particular configuration of the collar, it should be so disposed that a club shaft connected to it will extend on an axis that intersects with the center of gravity of the club head, and thereby produce a well balanced putter.

In use, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the golf putter PG includes the club head and a conventional shaft S. The player P grasps the grip portion of the shaft in any desired manner and orients the club head 10 so that the reduced portion extends away from him. With reference to FIG. 8, assuming the ball B rests on the green G, and assuming further that the green is fiat, and therefore, it is not necessary to take into account any unevenness in the surface of the green which might cause the ball to change its direction of movement after it has been struck, it is apparent that the ball B should move along the line of movement designated by phantom line L in order that it will drop into the cup C. To facilitate the achievement of this desired line of movement, the improved putter head 10 is disposed in such a manner that the substantial line formed by the upper edge of shoulder 24 is aligned with the imaginary line of movement L. The substantial extent of the shoulder 24 enables this alignment to be achieved readily and accurately, and this alignment automatically results in disposing the club face 12 in a plane that is perpendicular to the intended line of movement L, and therefore, in properly initially positioning the putter head relative to the ball B. During the actual putt, i.e. swinging of the putter, the line formed by the shoulder 24 of the putter head enables the player to visualize the plane in which the putter shaft should move and be retained if the originally properly disposed putter head is to strike the ball in the proper manner so as to squarely hit the ball and cause it to roll in a straight line. Therefore, the unique configuration of the putter head 10 provides a built-in means of both initially properly disposing the putter head and thereafter maintaining it in operation.

It has been found in actual practice that the applicants improved club head results in significant improvement of the putting of all golfers who have tested it. Normally, the putter head is utilized in the manner described above with relation to FIG. 8. There is a situation which arises during putting while playing golf which also creates difiiculties for a golfer which the improved putter of the invention eliminates. This condition exists when a green is inclined and the ball rests at a point that is higher in elevation than the cup. This is referred to in golfing parlance as being a downhill putt. The factor of the inclination of the green makes it difficult for a golfer to estimate the force with which he must strike the ball, as it will gather some momentum as it rolls down the green, and therefore, this type of putt is usually struck too hard by golfers who do not compensate for the inclination of the green. Therefore, golfers sometimes, through cautiousness, err in the other direction, of just striking the ball too lightly, resulting in short putts. Much of the difiiculty in this type of putt results from the fact that a golfer aligns the putter head and strikes the ball with the same amount of force as he would for the putt if it were on a flat green. This, of course, results in the ball rolling past the cup or striking the cup with so much force that it does not fall in it. With the im proved putter head, much of the difliculty of downhill putts is eliminated by providing a means in the putter head for permitting the ball to be lightly tapped while still utilizing the same putter that the golfer ordinarily employs. This is achieved by aligning a portion of the reduced portion 20 with the ball B as shown in dotted lines, FIG. 8. The golfer may still generally align the putter head by utilizing the shoulder 24; however, in this case, he must align it with an imaginary line that is parallel and laterally displaced from the intended line of movement that the ball will actually take when struck by the reduced portion 20. After aligning the club, the ball may be struck in the usual manner, but in view of the substantially reduced mass of the reduced portion 20 and its being displaced from the center of gravity of the putter head, the ball will just be lightly tapped rather than struck with the full force of the putter head, as is the case when the ball is aligned in the solid line position shown in FIG. 8 which is the normal one used for a normal putt wherein the shoulder 24 is directly utilized to be aligned with the line of intended movement of the ball.

As will be evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of my invention are not limited to the particular details of construction of the examples illustrated and I contemplate that various and other modifications and applications will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, my intention that the appended claim shall cover such modifications and applications as do not depart from the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A club head for a golf putting club comprising: an elongated body; a flat face on the body for striking a golf ball; a reduced portion of the body extending along the entire toe portion of the club head; a flat shoulder formed on the body intermediate the length thereof and extending in a plane that is transverse to the plane of said face, the length of said shoulder being substantially greater than the thickness of said reduced portion; an enlarged portion of the body extending along the entire heel end of the club head; said shoulder disposed intermediate said portions; and a collar arranged to receive a golf club shaft and dispose it to extend on an axis that intersects with the center of gravity of the body.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,089,881 3/1914 Taylor 273-167 1,537,320 5/1925 Marsh 273-167 1,654,916 1/1928 Boyce 273-168 X 1,703,199 2/1929 McClure 273-164 X 2,820,638 1/1958 Morrison 273-164 3,081,087 3/1963 Redd 273-168 X 3,126,206 3/1964 Sabia 273-194 X FOREIGN PATENTS 181,185 6/1922 Great Britain. 195,812 4/1923 Great Britain.

DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner. 

